World-renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone signed to Decca Records in a major new record deal celebrating his professional career which spans 60 years and 600 compositions. His new album ‘Morricone 60’ will be released on 7th October, just ahead of his 88th birthday, and marks the start of a unique partnership between Decca and the Morricone family.

‘Morricone 60’ is the first album of Ennio Morricone’s greatest hits conducted, recorded and curated by Morricone himself – and aims to create a legacy for his fans to enjoy. It sees the celebrated Maestro performing some of his greatest film music from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to his recent Academy Award-winning score for Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (released earlier this year on Decca). The album marks Ennio Morricone’s 60th anniversary as a composer and conductor and features brand new recordings with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, with whom he’s collaborated on major international movie scores.

Upon signing the recording contract with Decca, Ennio Morricone commented:“After the success of The Hateful Eight score, I’m delighted to be returning to Decca with my own record deal – an extraordinary moment in my 60th professional anniversary year. It’s been a wonderful experience to be able to conduct my scores and to record these with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. The quality of their performance of my work is truly outstanding.”

Rebecca Allen, Managing Director of Decca Records, said:“It is a great honour to be signing Ennio Morricone, whose iconic scores have inspired artists, film-makers and music-lovers around the world for generations. We have waited over 60 years to sign this legendary artist and are thrilled to welcome him to Decca Records – also 87 years strong!”

The new album and record deal coincides with Morricone’s ‘60 Years of Music World Tour’, which sees the Maestro performing across the globe in a new programme, with over 200 musicians and singers on stage. It follows a hugely successful European arena tour in which he performed to over 150,000 audience members in 22 cities – receiving standing ovations and overwhelming critical acclaim. Morricone’s next concerts in Belgium are at the Sint-Pietersplein, Ghent on the 25th and the 26th of June.

Ennio Morricone has composed over 500 scores for cinema and television as well as over 100 original musical works and is one of only two film composers in history to have received the honorary Academy Award for his lifetime achievement. Highlights include his scores for Once Upon a Time in the West, One Upon a time in America, A Fistful of Dollars, The Untouchables and The Mission. Morricone’s score for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly holds the number two position in the Top 200 ranking of best film soundtracks ever composed.

Tracklisting | ‘Morricone 60’:

1. The Man with the Harmonica (from Once Upon a Time in the West)2. The Fortress (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) 3. The Good the Bad and the Ugly – Main theme (from the film) 4. Jill’s Theme (from Once Upon a Time in the West) 5. A Fistful of Dynamite (from the film with the same name) 6. The Ecstasy of Gold (from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) 7. Gabriel’s Oboe (from The Mission) 8. Falls (from The Mission) 9. On Earth as it is in Heaven (from The Mission) 10. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso 11. Abolisson (from Quemada) 12. Chi Mai 13. H2S 14. Metti una Sera a Cena (from the film) 15. Croce d’Amore (from Metti una Sera a Cena) 16. Deborah’s Theme (from Once Upon a Time in America) 17. Stage Coach to Red Rock (from The Hateful Eight) 18. Bestiality (from The Hateful Eight)